Register your babies birth

All births must be registered within 42 days of the child being born (or 21 days in Scotland). You should do this at the local register office for the area where the baby was born or at the hospital before the mother leaves. The hospital will tell you if you can register the birth there.If you can’t register the birth in the area where the baby was born, you can go to another register office and they will send your details to the correct office.When registering the birth, you should know:

place and date of the birth

name, surname and sex of the baby

parents’ names, surnames and address

places and dates of parents’ birth

date of parents’ marriage or civil partnership

parents’ jobs

mother’s maiden surname

You might not need to give all of this information, depending on who is registering the birth. You don’t need to take any documents with you to register a birth.Information you need when registering a birth